Terms of sick leave scheme
For an ordinary illness, teachers are entitled to 183 days paid sick leave in a rolling four-year period.
This is subject to a further limit of 92 days on full salary in any rolling twelve-month period, after which any remaining sick leave entitlement will be paid at half-pay.
In a rolling two-year period, seven of these days may be taken as self-certified sick leave.
For a more serious illness, a teacher may apply for the Critical Illness Protocol (CIP), which may extend their access to paid sick leave. See FAQ below for further details about CIP.
Sick leave calculator
The INTO sick leave calculator can only provide members with a snapshot of their ordinary sick leave entitlement and cannot take account of extended sick leave which may be granted under the Critical Illness Protocol (CIP), or if a teacher’s absences are due to a Pregnancy Related Sick Leave (PRSL).
Furthermore, if a teacher has taken a career break in the relevant four-year period, time on career break should be discounted from the count-back for sick leave.
Please see FAQs below for a more detailed explanation of how sick leave is calculated, and the impact of career breaks, CIP, or PRSL on your entitlements.
Members with complex sick leave queries may prefer to contact the INTO Queryline.
Sick Leave FAQs
What paid sick leave am I entitled to?
You may find the INTO Sick Leave Estimator above useful to understand your own sick leave, and there is more detailed explanation of how the two count-backs work on the INTO website here.
What is meant by a “rolling four-year period” and “rolling twelve-month period” in relation to sick leave?
(For instance, if you are sick on 10 April 2022, the relevant four-year period counts from 11 April 2018 – 10 April 2022. But if you fell ill a month later, the relevant four-year period would be 11 May 2018 – 10 May 2022.)
Then, to assess the rate of pay that you’re going to receive, you look back over the past twelve months. (So in our example above, 11 April 2021 – 10 April 2022.)
This is referred to as the “dual count-back” – the four-year count-back to assess how many days of paid sick you have, and the twelve-month count-back to assess whether those days will be at full or half pay.
What is meant by a “rolling four-year period” and “rolling twelve-month period” in relation to sick leave? How can I find out what sick leave I’ve taken so far?
How can I find out what sick leave I have taken so far?
What happens if I have used all my paid sick leave, but I am still sick?
Alternatively, any further sick leave you take may be paid as Temporary Rehabilitation Remuneration (TRR) or as unpaid sick leave.
What is Temporary Rehabilitation Remuneration (TRR), and how long does it last?
Am I eligible for TRR?
If you’re a member of the Single Pension Scheme, introduced in 2013, you must have completed at least two years of service to be eligible for TRR.
TRR is granted on the condition that Medmark confirms that there is a “reasonable prospect of recovery and return to work,” and is subject to ongoing review.
How much will I be paid on TRR?
The calculation of TRR will be based on your years of service, with either added years for those on the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, or an “enhancement of benefits” for those on the Single Scheme.
When do I need to provide a medical certificate?
Does my medical certificate have to include details of the nature of my illness?
How long can a medical certificate cover?
Do I need to claim Illness Benefit when I’m on sick leave?
A claim will be required if you have more than three consecutive days of sick leave, but may also be required for non-consecutive days of sick leave over a short period.
This “linking” of sick leave by the Department of Social Protection means that any three days of sick leave, whether consecutive or not, within a period of six consecutive days are treated as a period of sick leave, and any two such periods not separated by more than three days are treated as one period of incapacity for work.
Members should make reference to the DE information note on Illness Benefit here, published in April 2023, for examples of linked sick leave.
Your salary will be reduced by the value of your Illness Benefit while you’re on sick leave.
If you are refused Illness Benefit by the DSP, you should notify Primary Payroll and they will adjust the deduction.
How do I know if I pay Class A PRSI?
Is there substitute cover for sick leave?
Self-certified sick leave generally does not have substitute cover, with the following exceptions:
- Schools with two or fewer teachers can employ a substitute for self-certified sick leave or
- If there are two or more teachers absent on the same day on self-certified sick leave, or the first day of family illness leave, substitutes may be employed for the second and subsequent absent teachers. (Eg if a school has four teachers absent on self-certified sick leave, the school may employ three substitutes.)
Why is there a deduction being made from my pay during my sick leave?
You can make an Illness Benefit claim within six weeks of your illness commencing, or within six months if there is a very compelling reason for the late claim, which the DSP will adjudicate.
If I pay Class D PRSI, what forms do I need to submit?
How do I claim Illness Benefit?
Notes for applying for Illness Benefit:
- For the purpose of social welfare claims, your board of management or ETB is your employer.
- However, your Employers Registered Number is the Department of Education payroll number, 4000099H.
- This benefit is paid directly to you, so you should supply your personal bank details on your application form.
I am a non-casual substitute teacher. Am I entitled to paid sick leave?
However, as you are paid through the OLCS, you will need to submit a Substitute for a Substitute form (PDF) to claim your salary for the duration of your absence.
If your contract ends before your sick leave ends, your payment from the DE will cease at the end of your contract, unless you take up a subsequent contract.
I need leave to attend a medical appointment – is this part of my sick leave?
Evidence of your appointments should be provided to your school to support your absence, and this can be recorded as certified sick leave on the OLCS.
I am undergoing fertility treatment and will need leave to attend appointments – is this part of my sick leave?
Sick leave may be taken for the purpose of “obtaining medical related services (e.g. Doctor/Dentist) provided such appointments could not have been arranged outside of regular working hours or working days,” which may include fertility treatment.
Evidence of your appointments should be provided to your school to support your absence, and these absences can be recorded as certified sick leave on the OLCS.
Am I entitled to leave work early to attend a medical appointment?
Some schools through a local arrangement may occasionally facilitate teachers who need to be absent for an hour or two, but this is not an entitlement in your terms and conditions, and a partial absence cannot be formally recorded.
Why has my employer referred me to Medmark?
If you have been absent for 28 days or more in a 12-month period – whether cumulatively or consecutively – your employer is required to make a referral to Medmark.
Your employer can also make a discretionary referral to Medmark – even if you’ve had fewer than 28 days leave – if they have a particular concern about an employee’s wellbeing or fitness to work.
What is the Critical Illness Provision (CIP)?
How do I apply for CIP?
You will apply to your employer for CIP, using the application form here (doc). Your employer will make an online referral to Medmark, which will generate a referral number. You will need to provide a report from your consultant to Medmark, using the form here (PDF) and including the Medmark referral number, outlining the serious nature of your condition.
Medmark assess your application on narrow medical grounds, but if Medmark do not approve your CIP, your employer may exercise their discretion and grant it.
What criteria do Medmark use to assess my CIP application?
(b) Acute life-threatening physical illness
(c) Chronic progressive illness, with well-established potential to reduce life expectancy
(d) Major physical trauma ordinarily requiring corrective acute operative surgical treatment
(e) In-patient or hospital day care of ten consecutive days or greater. (If the condition is pregnancy related, this is reduced to two consecutive days.)
Medmark have turned down my CIP application. What are my options?
Alternatively, you can ask your employer to exercise their “managerial discretion”, in considering whether there are exceptional circumstances which warrant the granting of CIP. (Details here (PDF) at Appendix B of the sick leave chapter of circular 54/2019.)
If I take sick leave immediately before a weekend, is the weekend counted as sick leave?
If an absence is certified, your school must record what is on your certificate, but it’s fine for a medical certificate to end on a Friday inclusive.
I have been on sick leave coming up to the summer closure – is my summer going to be counted as sick leave?
However, it should be noted that the DE have the discretion to re-classify a school closure as being sick leave, on the advice of the OHS, and taking account of the individual circumstances.
If you’ve been absent for an extended period coming up to school holidays – 28 days or longer – you will need Medmark to certify that you are fit to end your sick leave. You may be deemed fit after the school holidays have begun (so being on sick leave at the start of the summer doesn’t necessarily mean the entire summer will count as sick leave).
If you are sick before and after a school closure, the full duration of the closure will also be counted as part of your sick leave, but you may present medical evidence to the OHS and seek to have your record amended.
Even if some or all of a school closure is recorded as sick leave, you will still be paid for this time, subject to your contract of employment and the terms of the sick leave scheme.
My doctor says that I’m fit to return to work, but my employer is referring me to Medmark. Can they do this?
If you’ve been absent for 28 days or longer, your employer is required to get confirmation from Medmark that you’re fit to return to work.
If your absence has been shorter than twenty-eight days, but your employer has concerns about your fitness to return, they can make a discretionary referral to Medmark to confirm that you are fit to return.
You should be given a copy of any referral to Medmark.
I have a broken arm, but my doctor and I think I would be able to work. Am I allowed to return to school while wearing a cast?
If you’ve been absent for fewer than twenty-eight days, your school may accept your own doctor’s confirmation that you are fit to return to work, but a prudent employer may make a discretionary referral to Medmark, to confirm that you will be able to carry out all your duties, and that attending work will not jeopardise your recovery.
If you’ve been absent for more than twenty-eight days, your employer is required to get Medmark’s confirmation that you’re fit to return to work.